1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to assembly and alignment machines, and in particular to a machine and method for assembling and aligning drawers and their components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of machines are used to assemble and align the component parts of articles of manufacture. For example, jigs of various types are commonly used to secure components in predetermined positions while they are being fastened together. Jigs lend themselves to mass production techniques because consistency and accurate alignment can be achieved, along with relatively efficient utilization of labor and material resources. Jigs can particularly be useful where considerable labor would otherwise be required to manually align components for fastening, including manual measuring and repositioning steps as required to achieve satisfactory alignment. Manually measuring and repositioning the components can be quite time consuming. Such manual techniques have the further disadvantage of their accuracy depending upon the skill and experience of the worker.
With modern fastening equipment such as pneumatic fasteners and automated welders, the process of properly positioning the components for final assembly is often a relatively time consuming portion of the assembly process.
The manufacture of drawer units for millwork comprising cabinets and the like is an example of a manufacturing process which can be relatively labor intensive, particularly in projects where the cabinets are custom made for each job. The custom sizing often required for fitting cabinets and their drawer units into specific spaces tends to increase the custom labor requirements of this type of manufacturing. Moreover, it is often desirable for the finished units to have a certain uniform appearance which can only be achieved by properly aligning the components in assembly.
In addition to jigs, forming tools are often used in mass production operations. For example, the Stefano U.S. Pat. No. 2,250,845 and the Schafer et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,299,851 both disclose gang drills. Such multiple tools can increase the efficiency of manufacturing operations by reducing labor and by increasing accuracy in repetitive operations. A disadvantage with many prior art mass production machines relates to their specialized nature and difficulties encountered in reconfiguring them for different sizes of articles of manufacture. Moreover, prior art manufacturing equipment often tended to be relatively expensive and complicated.
Heretofore there has not been available an article assembly and alignment machine and method with the advantages and features of the present invention.